Manually operated outboard motor



March 31, 1953 c.'| RAYFIELD 2,633,096

MANUALLY OPERATED OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed July 28, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I v v v v v v v v v v v March 31, 1953 c. RAYFIELD 2,633,096

MANUALLY OPERATED QUTBOARD MOTOR Charles Rqyfild g w zuym W5 March 31, 1953 c. RAYFIELD I 2,633,096

1 MANUALLY- OPERATED OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed July 28, 1948.

'5 Sheets-Sheet 4 [Hz/Er: fur

Uizarles L; Rqyfz'eld 1y Z -22; /K/M March 31, 1953 c. L. RAYFIELD 2,633,096

MANUALLY OPERATED OUTBOARD MOTOR Filed July 28, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 U/zqrles L. Hayfield Patented Mar. 31, 1953 MANUALLY OPERATED OUTBOARD MOTOR Charles L. Rayfield, Chicago, Ill., assignor to C. L. Rayfield Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application July 28, 1948, Serial No. 41,103

Claims. (Cl. 115-24) This invention relates to a demountable de vice for propelling row boats, canoes, and similar small water craft. More specifically, the invention relates to a foot treadle operated outboard propelling mechanism for use in boats.

Many states have laws prohibiting the use of outboard motors in trolling. In such states if an ordinary rowboat is used in trolling it is necessary for someone to handle the oars while the fisherman trolls. Accordingly, there has been a need for a manually operated boat-propelling device which wou1 leave the operator's hands free. This invention provides such a device.

It is an object of the invention to provide an easily controlled means whereby an operator may manually propela boat. a v

' It is a further object of the invention to provide a demountable outboard propelling device for a boat which an operator may energize by means of a foot treadle while facing forward in the boat.

' It is another object of the invention to provide a demountable outboard propelling device for a boat in which propelling cables may be easily adjusted as to length.

It is another object of the invention to provide an outboard propelling device for a boat in which a screw type propeller is kept clean of. plant material.

a It is still another object of the invention to provide an outboard propelling device for a boat, which device includes an operators back rest as an integral part thereof.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the annexed sheets of drawings which disclose preferred embodiments of the invention.

Onthe drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the outboard,

propelling device, showing its position during operation;

Figure 2 is a side elevation partially in crosssection, showing the device exclusive of the treadle as it appears when fastened to the transom of a boat;

Figure 3 is a top view partially in cross-section of the device of Figure 2 with the chain-driven gears exposed to view;

' Figure 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the lower sprocket taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 2;

Figure '7 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken along the line VIIVII of Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of one of the propeller blades and the weed-cleaning knife taken along the line VIIIVIII of Figure 2;

Figure 9 is a partial cross-sectional View of the treadle mechanism;

Figure 0 is a view of the treadle clamp taken along the line X-X of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view of the treadle mechanism taken along the line XI-XI of Figure 9; and

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the split bushing and wing nut used in tightening the flexible cables of the treadle taken along the line XII-XII of Figure 9.

As shown on the drawings:

Figures 1 to 8, inclusive, show various aspects of that part of the device which fastens onto the stern of the boat and the operation of this portion of the device will be discussed first. It will be observed that this part of the device resembles a conventional engine propelled outboard motor and many of the parts function in a manner similar to comparable parts on an outboard motor. Thus, a propeller 20 (Figures 1, 2 and 7) is mounted on a shaft 2| (Figure 2) which extends into a gear box 22 in which it is supported by be'arings23j A lGarlock type seal 24 in the gear housing 22 helps 'tokeep out water. A beveled pinion gear25 on the shaft 2| meshes with a bevel gear 26 and acts to turn the aXis of rotation through approximately a angle. The gears 25 and 26' are also in a step-up ratio in order to increase the forward thrust of the propeller. A vane 2! is attached to the bottom of the gear housing 22 and serves the two-fold purpose of protecting the propeller 20 from fracture and acting as -a rudder in steering. In back of the vane 21 is a knife-like member 28 which is curved to fit the contour of the propeller 20 and which has a sharpedge disposed immediately opposite the leading edge of the propeller. In the view of the propeller and knife blade shown in Figure 8 it can be seen that the knife blade would shear off any weeds and grasses clinging to the propeller 20, thereby keeping the mechanism in good running order. 3

The gear 26 is'mounted on a vertical shaft 29 which rotates inside a vertical supporting member 3i. The shaft 29 is supported by hearing members 32. Mounted above the top bearing member of the shaft 29 are two sprockets 33 and 34 (Figure 2).

The operation of the sprockets 33 and 34 will be described more fully with reference to Figures 5 and 6. The sprockets 33 and 34 consist of an inner circular disk 35 which is rigidly attached to the shaft 29 and an outer rim 33 which is concentric with the circular disk 35. A slight clearance is left between the member 35 and 36 and they can' rotate independently ofeach. other; Both the sprockets 33 and 3 1 are rigidly attached to their respective rims 35, Grooves 31, provided in the disk 35, are not symmetrical, but are shallower on one end than on the other, a shallow end of one groove following behind the deep end of another groove around theperimeterof.the disk 35. A roller member .38 is located in eachof the grooves 31, the roller members 38 being provided with the diameter slightly greaterthan the.

depth of the grooves 31 at the shallow end there of. Each of the grooves 37 has a spring imbedded in the disk 35 and impinging on the roller member-38.-from thedeep end of the groove.

Inoperaticmwhen the sprockets33. and. 35 are.

rotated clockwise, the interior surface of the rims 36 runs .the rollers. 33 toward theshalloW end. of the-grooves 31; When the rollers 38 reachthe end of the grooves 3'? they are in tight engagement with the rim. 36 and consequently the clockwise rotation of the sprockets 33 and 34 willefiect rotation of the disks 35 and the shaft 25. When the sprockets 33 and34 are rotated counter-clockwise-, the rollermembers .33 are rolled toward the deep end. of the grooves 3'! where the diameterof the rollers 38 is less than the depth of the grooves 31.- The clearancebetween thedisk 35 and. the rim..36- enables these .two membersto rotate independently of each. other. Thus, the shaftfifi may be rotated in only one direction by the sprockets 33 and 34.

The sprockets 33and 34 arerotated respectively by means ofchains M and Q2. The chain M runs.

around a forward idler member 43 anda rear idlerzmember. M to which it is anchored The.

The gear box22is rigidly attachedto. the vertical.

supporting member 3.! andthe. three .p arts-rthe gearbox 22, the. vertical supporting member. 3%,

and theframe flconstitute the stationary skelew ton ofthe apparatus.

Thefront partoftheframe 4i pivots around a. horizontal tube5 I The center of the horizontal tube 5! has an aperture into. which. the idler.

members 53 and 45 extend. The chains M and 42 run around the. idler members 43 and5 re-- spectively from. opposite direction and enter the tube 5| from opposite directions, It will be noted thatthe chains ll and 52 are so disposed upon theirrespective idler membersthatthe front and rear-idler members willalways rotate in. opposite directions. It will also be observed that the sprocket 33 rotates in unison with the front idler memberwhile. the sprocket 34 rotates in an opposite direction from. its front idler. member. Thus thesprockets 33-. and 35 always rotate in opposite directions.

Inside the horizontal. tube member 5!, the chains 4| and 42 are connected respectively to flexible cables 53 and 54-. The flexible cables 53 4 and 54 run around pulleys 55 located at the end of the horizontal tube 5!. These pulleys 55 rotate around a vertical axis and serve to turn the flexible cables 53 and 54 through about a angle in a substantially horizontal plane.

The tube member 5! serves as a pivot axis for a clamp member '56.; Theclamp member 55 has two tightening. screws. 51 which serveto attach the device to the transom of a boat, or to an outboard bracket.

A tiller handle 58 is pivotally attached to a vertical member 55, which is adjustably mounted through a postfiI-the tiller handle 58, the vertical member 59 and the post 5i constituting the tiller assembly, The post 5! is rigidly attached to the vertical supporting member 3|. The vertical supporting member 35 is in pivotal contact with the-frame. 41 and can rotate around the vertical axis. The height of the'tiller handle 58 may be adjusted by moving theverticalmember 59 up or down .through the. arm 5!. When the proper height-has been achieved, the adjustment screw 62.0nthe arm .61 is tightened and thereafter the direction of thrust of the propeller 20 may be changed. by. manipulating the tiller handle 53. The. tiller handle 58 pivots througha angle around .a pin 53 onthe vertical member 59. In orderto reverse the direction of thrust of the propeller 25, it is. only necessary to swing the tiller.

handle'58 through a 180 angle and then to rotate the vertical member 3| through a 180 angle so that the propeller20 isthrusting toward the bow ofthecraft rather than away from the bow of the craft... Thetiller handle 58.1 then on. the right side of the operator rather than the left side.

Since the operator faces. forward,. it is. convenient to havea back rest in .conjunctionwith.

the apparatus... This. has beenprovided by. a cushion. 64, which is. attached to two posts 65, which extend through post supports 66, attached totheframemember 41. As may be seen by reference to- Figure 3, the post-supports. 66. have. setscrewsfifi' so thattheheight .of thecushion ti l may be adjusted.

Inorder to maintainthe device in a vertical position. irrespective of. the. angle. of. the boat. transom or outboard bracket, the clamp 55 has.

been provided with the arms 6! (Figures 2 and'?) extending rearward fromthe basethereof. The

vertical member..3l hasa. collar 10 withtwo .bolts.

extending .outwardfrom the sides thereof through arcuate slots in the arms 6.1. Awing nut 68 on theseobolts servestotighten the collar Ill'at any desired. point along the arcuate slots of thearms 61. In this. manner. the. angle the. vertical mem-- ber..3l makes with theboat transom or. outboard bracket may be adjusted within the limits of. theslots of the arms 61.

Referring particularly to. Figures land. .9 to. 12,

itmay beseen that the. flexible cables 53 and 54 lead forward to a pivoted treadle bar H. The flexible cab1es53 and 54 lead into the treadle bar H through split bushings 12 (Figure. 12). These split bushings 12.may be tightened. by means of wing bolts 13. In this manner slack in the flexible cables may be taken up.

The treadle .bar 1 l .pivots around .the wing bolt 14, which may be tightened any place along a.

rigid. support 15. Therigidsupport 15 has a twin clamp 16 which is fastenedto a boat seat in order tomaintain. the treadle bar?! in position. Figure 10 shows specifically the manner. in which the twin. clamp 16- fastens on to a boat seat. A pivoted rest 11 is connected to the rigid member 15 at the end opposite from the twin clamp 16.

The pivotedres't 11 serves to hold the treadle bar H a sufficient distance above the bilges or floor boards that the operators feet will have no difflculty in maintaining'clearance. The rest 1! may be fastened to the fioorboard, as shown in Figure 11, where the installation is desired to be permanent.

The dotted lines leading forward from the wing bolts 13 of Figure 1 show how an additional treadle bar arrangement may be placed farther forward in the boat in order to provide tandem operation.

In operating the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1, the clamp 56 is made fast to the boat transom or outboard bracket and the adjustable nuts 5! tightened. The wing nuts 68 are then loosened and the vertical support member 3| is adjusted to the proper angle. The clamp 16 is then made fast to the operator's seat as shown in Figure 10. The treadlebar II is adjusted by vmeans of the pivotalwing bolt 14 to the proper position along the rigid member to suit the operator. The flexible cables 53 and 54 are then drawn taut through the split bushings 12 and the wing bolts 13 are tightened. Slack in the flexible cables 53 and 54 may be finally adjusted by loosening the wing bolt 14, pushing the treadle bar 1| forward, and tightening the wing bolt 14 again. i

As soon as the boat is in water beyond the depth of the vane 21 the operator sits at the stern of the boat, facing forward and resting his back on the cushion 64, the tiller bar 58 under his left arm. By pushing the treadle bar alternately with his left and right foot he-alternately pulls the chains 4| and 42. When he pulls the chain 4| by actuating the treadle H on the right side, the sprocket 33 is rotated in a clockwise direction. This rolls the balls 38 in the slots 31 into engagement with the inner surface of the rim 3B which is rigidly attached to sprocket 33, and the circular disk 35 on the shaft 29 rotates in a clockwise direction along with the sprocket 33. This rotates the shaft 29, which in turn communicates the rotation to the propeller through the gears 26 and and the shaft 2 On pivoting the treadle bar H in the opposite direction, the sprocket 34 goes through the cycle previously described for the sprocket 33. The sprocket 33 is now rotating in a counter-clockwise direction and the roller members associated therewith go out of engagement. Thus, the circular disk members always rotate in a clockwise direction while the sprocket members 33 and 34 alternately rotate in a clockwise and counter-clockwise direction.

It will, of course, be understood that the various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon, otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a demountable outboard propelling device for a boat, a power transmission mechanism comprising a screw type propeller mounted on a substantially horizontal shaft, a substantially vertical shaft geared to said horizontal shaft, sprocket means mounted on the upper portion of said vertical shaft and comprising a pair of sprockets each of which comprises inner and outer concentric members in slidable contact with one another, said inner concentric member of each being rigidly attached to said vertical shaft and having a plurality of longitudinal slots around the periphery thereof, said slots having less'depth at one end thereof than the other andbeing spaced and means for alternately rotating said sprockets simultaneously in opposite directions, said rotating means comprising two separate chains each mating with one of said sprockets, a treadle having a pair of pedals and cables connecting each of said pedals to a corresponding chain to drive the respective sprockets simultaneously but in opposite directions.

2. A demountable outboard device for propelling a boat comprising, in combination, a screw type propeller mounted on a horizontal shaft, a generally vertical shaft drivingly connected to said horizontal shaft, a frame for securing to the boat, a housing for said vertical shaft, said housing being pivotally attached to said frame, two rotary drive elements mounted on said vertical shaft, a clutch mechanism between each of said elements and said shaft for alternately engaging one element with the shaft for simultaneous rotation while disengaging the other element, and drive means having portions engaging said elements for alternately rotating the same simultaneously in opposite directions, whereby said shaft is rotated substantially continuously in one direction, said drive means including a foot treadle power mechanism having portions engaging said elements.

3. A demountable outboard device for propelling a boat comprising, in combination, a frame, means for pivotally attaching said frame to a boat, the pivoting axis being in a horizontal plane, a vertical shaft housing pivotally mounted and extending downwardly from said frame, the pivoting axis for said shaft housing being in a vertical plane, a rotatable vertical shaft mounted inside said vertical housing, said vertical shaft being geared to a horizontal shaft at the base of said vertical housing, a screw-type propeller mounted on said horizontal shaft, rotary drive mechanism mounted on the top portion of said vertical rotatable shaft, said mechanism comprising two rotary drive elements mounted on said vertical shaft each of which includes inner and outer concentric members in slidable contact with one another. each of said inner concentric members being rigidly attached to said vertical shaft and having a plurality of longitudinal slots along the periphery thereof, said slots having less depth at one end thereof than the other and being spaced so that the shallow end of one slot follows the deep end of the adjoining slot around the periphery of said inner concentric member, a roller member for each of said slots, said roller member having a diameter slightly greater than the depths of one of said slots at the shallow end thereof, a spring in each of said slots for impelling said roller member toward the shallow end of each slot, and drive means with portions engaging said elements for alternately rotating the same simultaneously in opposite directions.

4. A demountable outboard device for propelling a boat comprising, in combination, a frame, means for pivotally attaching said frame to a boat, the pivoting axis being in the horizontal plane, a vertical shaft housing pivotally mounted and extending downward from said frame, the pivoting aixissfortsaidivertical shaft housing ,beingin the vertical plane, aarotatable vertical shaft mounted inside: said. vertical housing, said vertical. shaftbeing-gearedto a horizontal shaft at the base ofsaid verticalhousing, a screw-type propeller mounted on said horizontal shaft, sprocket means mounted on the top portion of said vertical rotatable-shaft, said sprocket means comprising two sprockets mounted on said vertical shaft each of which includes inner and outer concentric memhere in slidable contact with one, another, each of said inner concentric members being rigidly attaohed to said vertical shaft and having a slot in the; periphery thereof, each of said slots having azdeep end and a shallow end disposed about the periphery of 7 said inner concentric member, a.

rollerzmemberfor each said slot, said roller memher having a diameter greater than the depth of said slot at the shallow end and less than the depthof saidslot at the deep end, each said slot having a spring thereinimpinging on said roller. member and propelling it toward the shallow end .of said slot, and drive means withportionsitrained about said sprockets for alternately rotating; the same simultaneously in opposite directions.

5. A manually propelled outboard motorcomprising, a frame, means for removably securing the frame. to the stern of a boat, a screw-type propeller rotatable on the frame, gearing carried by theframefrom which the propeller is driven, asingle shaft: transmitting power through said gearing, a pair of'overrunning clutches mounted onsaidshaft and having members alternately ens gagingone of 'the clutches with said shaft for simultaneous: rotationfwhile disengaging; the" other clutch to. provide-Ban.applicationof power to: the. propeller-:inone direction only, and a; foot treadle power mechanismhavingjpprtions en- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number. Name Date.

693,615 Minkus Feb. 18, 1902 732,568 Lee .June-30, 1903 1,307,752 Primm .June 24, 1919 1,467,641 Johnson .Sept. 11, 1923 1,826,507 Crosby, Oct. 6, 1931 1,961,506 Millican .Junet5, 1934 2,023,679 Galkin, Dec. 10, 1935 2,079,527 Rauen May4, 1937 2,079,871 Price May 11, 1937 2,248,930 Allen -July 15,1941 2,319,640 Sink May 18, 1943 2,355,842 7 Arado Aug. 15,1944 2,429,774 Schultz et a1 Oct. 28,1947 2,484,720 Montalban -Oct. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,841. Great Britain 1888 

